Bobby Petrino and the Louisville football program are lost

Louisville football suffered another series of unfortunate events on Thursday after two decommitments and a prominent player announcing his transfer.

Wow. Louisville football is on a roll. And not the kind of roll that you are trying to get on. No, after losing 14 of their last 20 FBS games and starting the season 2-6 with no apparent momentum shift in sight, the Cards took a few more blows on Thursday.

At this point, most around the program are growing used to the negative news and learning to expect disappointment and just really enjoy the small wins. However, days like Thursday chip away at fan, player, and administration optimism.

The day started with the news of 3-star offensive linemen Jamari Williams announcing his decommitment from the program at 8:30 a.m.

About four hours later he would commit to Arizona. Because, of course.

The news did not end there. Shortly after, freshman quarterback Jordan Travis announced he would transfer from the program.

This departure is troublesome considering that he was only a freshman and was regarded as a talented and promising quarterback. There had been rumors all week that someone from the program would be transferring, but the loss of Travis is a serious hit.

The post-Halloween nightmare was not over.

Towards the bottom of the 12 o’clock hour, top rated junior college tight end Austin Griffin decommitted from the Cards. This is alarming considering this already small recruiting class just got even smaller.

https://twitter.com/austgriff/status/1058039043684847616

With all of these guys leaving, it is important to remember that they are 18 and 19 years old. I think myself and the rest of the fan base should wish them the best as these are decisions that they feel  are the most comfortable for their life, and not Billy Bob from section 118’s life. There should not be any animosity towards them.

The issue here is to be expected with a 2 win team, however the real gut punch comes from the lack of awareness or ability to get in-state and even Louisville area kids. The state of Kentucky is going through a historically impressive cycle in regards to talent. There are kids all over the city and throughout the state that are highly rated and being recruited by major programs like Alabama, Texas, and Oregon. It is really frustrating to see the fans get blamed for turning away recruits when the staff does not go after the recruits the fans want.

It is understandable that the Cards lost their best recruiter to Oregon, but it is the head coach’s job to keep him there. The same goes for the rest of the caravan of coaches who have made a mass exodus from The Ville over the last 3 or 4 years.

I think a lot of Cards supporters would be fine if the staff just simply got beat for top prospects, because at least they made an effort. However, when you don’t even offer an hometown recruit like Rondale Moore, who grew up wanting to play for Louisville, and was highly sought after by Texas and Alabama, it is a real gut punch. To say that the fans are the group sending a “bad message” to recruits in one thing. Not offering a kid in your own backyard is the bad message.

It is becoming more and more apparent that it is time for a change. Who and what the solution are,and how the program is going to get them is a whole different story. However, it is clear that Louisville football is approaching dangerous territory if a move is not made at seasons end.